UNICEF Venture Fund Call for Frontier Tech Solutions for Climate Action 2023 ($100K in equity-free investments)

Now accepting applications is the UNICEF Venture Fund Call for Frontier Tech Solutions for Climate Action 2023. The UNICEF Venture Fund is seeking to make equity-free investments of up to $100,000 to support for-profit technology start-ups that have the potential to combat climate change in their early stages.

They are searching for startups that use cutting-edge technologies like drones, blockchain, extended reality, artificial intelligence, machine learning, or innovative data science. They invite you to submit if your product is registered in one of UNICEF’s program countries, has a functioning prototype with proven outcomes, and is (or is eligible to be) open-source licensed.

Benefits:

Selected companies will receive $100,000 Equity Free Funding

Eligibility:

Only entities that fulfill these mandatory requirements will be eligible:

• You must be registered as a private company in a UNICEF programme country;
• You are working on open source technology solutions or willing to be open-source under the
  following licenses or their equivalent: BSD, GNU, MIT (software), CERN, MIT, TAPR
  (hardware), or CC-BY (content);
• You have an existing prototype of the solution with promising results from initial pilots;
• Your solution has the potential to positively impact the lives of children.

Evaluation Criteria:

The following criteria will be used to evaluate the applicants:

• Relevance of solution for children and young people, problem-solution fit and potential for
  application at global scale
• Novelty of project and alignment with Innovation Principles
• Suitability of the team and key personnel to implement the project
• Project budget and financing

Application:

Step I: Check Eligibility: Interested companies are required to check the eligibility of the
Innovation Fund.
Step II: Submit Application: Interested companies are required to submit an online
application through the Fund website. You should provide the information and supporting
documents indicated in the form.
Step III: Submit Request for Proposal: The Innovation Fund reviews all applications and
notifies companies of the decision. Shortlisted applicants are invited to submit a detailed
proposal, this is called the Request for Proposal (RFP) step.
Step IV: Demo Interview: After a careful review, companies shortlisted at the RFP step are
invested for an online demo interview. This is usually a 30 minutes interview the with
Innovation Fund team and experts from the tech teams.
Step V: Final Result: Based on a complete assessment of the application, RFP and interview,
the Innovation Fund makes the final investment decision and notifies all selected
companies.

Click here to apply